About 25 employees at the three locations were turned away from work on Saturday, said Alan Sprague, president of Truck Drivers Union Local 164, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents OmniSource workers.

A meeting is planned to be held Monday to determine how to proceed, Sprague said. The union could decide on a contract at that time or prepare for a strike, he earlier said.

Sprague said he contacted a company leader to say the union is ready and willing to continue negotiations, but did not receive a response as of Saturday afternoon.

The company, based in Fort Wayne Ind., hoped the lockout would lead to action on a new contract to replace one that expired on Friday, leaders said.

It gave employees its last, best and final offer weeks ago and has been waiting for a vote, Russell Rinn, president and chief operating officer of OmniSource, told the Citizen Patriot on Friday.

Rinn said the offer was seen as beneficial for both employees and the company. Sprague said workers were concerned about what they believed to be a large increase in health care contributions.

Rinn and Sprague were not aware of any other time the company resorted to a lockout.